Ceres: Found
by t.j.guard
Summary: After being captured, three workers on a top-secret project escape with their two products and split up. Years later, one of the products is facing an extraction team from the enemy and beginning to discover herself. Set after the Parts trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

Ceres: Found

Disclaimer: I don't own Cars 2.

A/N: Set immediately and then some time after the Parts trilogy.  
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Chapter One

"Salvage," Shorts said, studying the slightly singed, partially soot-covered parts he and Finn separated from the pile in the center of the room. "The car these belonged to got his bumpers blown apart."

"You can tell all that by looking at a carburetor?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Lotta things cars get killed by leave distinctive marks on some of their parts. This one took a pretty bad hit."

"That was my fault," deCarteran said, earning strange looks from Shorts, Finn, and Zundapp. "I caused the riot. I thought, if I distracted Montgomery's cronies enough, I could get Electro out."

"Weren't you trying to kill us a few weeks ago?" Finn asked. That was the least of his problems with deCarteran's sudden statement.

"Look, I never liked the guy, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do, and it wasn't like I could get a job anywhere else. My problem is that that guy has eyes all over this town. That's how I got caught."

Finn and Shorts looked at each other, and Zundapp seemed as bored and slightly annoyed as ever. "Can these parts fit together in any meaningful fashion?" Finn asked, still looking at Shorts.

"Yeah. This Montgomery guy did his homework, and his extra credit. We can really make something with this stuff."

"How much time do we have?"

"He wants a concept in three months," deCarteran said.

"Then let's get to it."

CARS

Holley paced back and forth along the length of Radiator Springs. "What's wrong, Miss Holley?" Mater asked when she passed him for the fifteenth time and counting.

"Finn should've made contact by now," she replied on her sixteenth pass. "Something's seriously wrong."

"He miss his flight?"

"Yes, he missed his flight." She stopped pacing and took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm just extremely wound up right now."

"'S okay. Not like he's dead or anything."

"He could be, and that's why I'm so worried. Finn is a trusted partner of mine, and now both of us are against our superior," she said in a low voice, drifting closer to Mater. "We're both targets now because of it. If Montgomery got to him..." She closed her eyes and shook her hood, drifting backward. "Sorry. I probably shouldn't be so worried, but considering Leland and Rod..."

"Really, 's okay. I get it." He touched her tire with his own, and she looked up at him with a small smile.

"Thank you," she whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"One question, Professor," Shorts said, rolling forward slightly. "Why install an electromagnetic pulse emitter in the engine?"

"It's simple, really," Finn replied, turning to look at Shorts. "Allinol isn't the only thing affected by an electromagnetic pulse. Phones, televisions, and pretty much any other electronic device you can think of fall into this category, as well."

"It'd be rather effective, considering what it seems he's looking for," Zundapp added, still facing the makeshift blackboard on the wall. "We'll have to route the signal so that it doesn't harm the onboard computer, of course, but we have a written concept and two weeks to spare. Do we submit it now?" he asked, looking over at Finn through the corner of his eye.

"We should. Early is always best when dealing with Montgomery."

"You're the expert."

"Whaddawe do after we send this sucker in?" Shorts asked.

"Await further orders," Finn replied, looking over his fender at deCarteran, who seemed absorbed in something other than the task at hand. "Professor, Shorts, I'd like a word with you after he falls asleep," he added in a low voice. Zundapp glanced at deCarteran and nodded.

"If you say so," Shorts said.

CARS

deCarteran was asleep at the usual time, but even so, the other three huddled in a corner and spoke in hushed tones. "Something about his recent behavior is bothering me," Finn said. "I won't involve him in this because, first and foremost, I believe he shouldn't be trusted."

"So you're telling us this why?" Shorts asked.

"What do you think I should do, genius? Something about deCarteran is putting me off, and I feel it should be dealt with before something goes wrong, which is why I'm calling this meeting now."

"So whaddawe do? Escape? Hello, not exactly gonna happen."

"Actually it is a possibility," Zundapp said. "One worth exploring."

"But first we have to wait and watch deCarteran," Finn added. "I've been wrong before. I don't want to be wrong when it counts."

A sound from deCarteran's general direction arrested the attention of all three cars, and none of them dared to breathe. deCarteran shuddered, let out a strange grunt-slash-stutter-type noise, and returned to his regular snoring rhythm. The three cars in the corner exhaled softly. "We'll need a plan, and it will take some doing," Finn whispered, "but for now let's get some sleep."

CARS

Montgomery pressed a button on his control panel and settled back in his chair with a soft laugh. "Thank you for that, deCarteran," he said. "Your three friends are never escaping alive."

CARS

Concept developed into reality, which revealed itself to be a dark green two-door sportscar only about three years old when it happened.

"Well, what do you think?" Finn asked the others as they studied the sportscar drive about the small, dimly-lit room.

"Here's my problem," Shorts replied. "C'mere, kid." The small green sportscar instantly replied, standing at attention as if awaiting further orders. Shorts gave the others a sidelong glance and said, "See?"

"I thought this was what he wanted," deCarteran said. "A superweapon that will obey every order."

"That's just it."

"He has a point. Obedience isn't exactly a virtue when dealing with equally controlling enemies, especially if the obedience in question is the complete blind obedience Shorts so kindly demonstrated. We'll keep him around, but if we tweak a few minor things and rebuild it, we should have a desirable end product," Finn said.

"Okay, kid, go back to playin'. The grown ups have some important stuff to do." The sportscar immediately resumed his trek to every nook and cranny of the small room. The four cars huddled together, and Shorts added, "Okay, expert. Where do we start?"

"Firstly, with the onboard computer," Finn replied, and thus, the reworking commenced.

The project took all of a week to finish, and a younger, magenta, female sportscar resulted. "I think we tweaked more than we thought," deCarteran said.

"As long as she's not blindly obedient, I think we're safe," Finn replied. The girl looked at them in confusion and then scanned the room.

"One way to find out," Shorts said. "Hey, kid. Get lost." In response, the girl gave him a slightly surprised look, rushed forward, jumped, and bit his front bumper. He shot backward with a yelp, slamming into the wall. The impact jerked her loose, but she landed on all four tires without a sound. "There's our answer."

"Did you really have to pick 'get lost'? Couldn't it be something like, oh, say, 'go play'?"

"If you want really good results, you've gotta scare 'em a little. If she doesn't respond to that, we're in the clear."

"So what's the next step?" deCarteran asked.

Shorts nodded curtly. "deCarteran, do us a favor and tell Montgomery we've finished."

deCarteran raised an eyebrow, but he turned and left the room anyway, exchanging only brief sentences with the guards. Finn returned his attention to the other two and nodded. "Both of them are coming with us," he said. Zundapp gestured to the green sportscar, and Finn gently guided the magenta one toward the door. Shorts knocked both guards out and indicated that it was safe to pass.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The five cars passed silently through the corridors, three of them keeping a constant watch out for someone, anyone from deCarteran to a low-level security guard who'd much rather get paid three times his salary to help them escape than keep his current job.

The magenta girl bumped into Zundapp, but he seemd to pay little attention. They turned left, and she looked over her fender at Finn, who smiled and urged her to continue.

Sirens cut through the air, and Finn shouted, "Go." The green sportscar shot forward, all but disappearing as Shorts and Zundapp followed. The magenta sportscar stayed behind, hovering between Finn as he turned and fired at approaching guards. She turned at the sounds of guards approaching from the other end of the hallway. The guards at the front cocked their weapons, but still she showed no fear.

She drove forward, looking first at the ground and then up at the guards. They watched her with some degree of surprise, but they didn't move as she wove through them and turned left.

Finn turned in surprise, and a bullet knicked his right bumprette. "No," he whispered, firing into the crowd of surprised guards. He cut a decent path through them before they fully knew what happened, carefully following the small magenta sportscar.

The girl stopped at a door and stared at the knob for a moment before Finn shot the lock out. She gave him a surprised look, but he pulled her along behind her just as the guards recovered enough to open fire. "It's alright," he whispered. "We're gonna get you out of here."

Finn and his young companion reached the end of the corridor, where Shorts, Zundapp, and the green sportscar waited. He glanced over his fender at the approaching guards, shot the lock to this door, and said, "Get to the elevator, and remember, two-three-seven-one-five-four." Zundapp nodded, and after a moment, Shorts followed suit. Finn and the girl took up the rear, Finn barracading the door before continuing on.

With the five cars gathered in the elevator, Finn let out a breath. "deCarteran is no longer to be trusted," he said.

"Guess you were right, but I can't believe we almost pulled it off," Shorts replied.

"Don't jinx anything. The heaviest guard is at the front and back doors. We have to split up. I'll take the girl. Zundapp, take the boy. Shorts, find a safe house and call Richard, or Ice, rather. Tell him to contact myself and the Professor, and also give him the safe house's location. We'll go from there once we've met up again."

"The guy probably hates me."

"Have any other ideas?" Finn and Zundapp asked at the same time, turning toward Shorts.

The Mitsubishi sighed and shook his hood. "I hate you guys."

The doors to the elevator opened, and Finn said, "Zundapp, front, Shorts, to the window. I'll go to the back."

Finn made sure the other two went in their prescribed directions before going in his with the girl in tow. He prepared for a fight while she looked around, trying to get her bearings. Only two guards approached them, and she rolled forward and revved her engine. One of the guards chuckled. "That's cute," he said.

"It appears she wandered in here on accident. I'm just trying to find her parents," Finn replied.

"Well, don't let us keep you from finding them," the second guard said.

"Thank you, gentlemen."

The guards nodded to Finn and the girl, and the two drove out into post-rush-hour traffic. "We're going to get you to a safe place," Finn whispered to the girl as they wove through the streets. Finn checked them into a hotel, giving the receptionist the same story he gave the guards. "This is temporary," he said. "We'll get to another temporary home and then try to find a permanent home for you, alright?" She gave him a blank look, and he led her to their room.

CARS

"Ice, I can't believe I'm saying this," Shorts said over the phone line, "but I need your help?"

"Give me a good reason to help you? And shouldn't you be in jail?" Ice replied.

"I busted out. Long story. Anyway, I need you to call McMissile and Zundapp and tell them I'm at fourteen seventy, Fifth Avenue, London."

"Why should I trust you?"

"I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to help me follow the orders of somebody you do trust."

"Whose orders?"

"Finn McMissile's."

Ice sighed. "I'm not gonna regret this, am I?"

"I hope not."

"Fine. Give me the address again."

"Fourteen seventy, Fifth Avenue, London."

"Got it, and who am I telling again?"

"McMissile and Zundapp."

"Okay, I got it."

"Good." Shorts hung up, and Ice closed his eyes, scanning the contacts list stored in his onboard computer. Both names were listed, and he placed a conference call to both of them.

"Hello," Finn said.

"_Guten tag_," Zundapp said.

"Good, I've got you both at the same time," Ice said. "I've got an address from Shorts, who's apparently now a friend of yours. Anyway, he said fourteen seventy, Fifth Avenue, London."

"Thank you, Richard," Finn replied.

"Now what?"

"Wait."

"For what?"

"For something other than a phone call, or Herr deCarteran's arrival," Zundapp said.

"Okay."

"Be strong, and be watchful," Finn said, and he hung up, followed shortly by Zundapp.

Ice rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Life of a spy," he whispered, turning to leave the hotel room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"C'mon, wake up," Finn said, gently nudging the magenta sportscar at his feet. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him. "We get to go to a safer place. Does that sound fun?" She blinked, but she followed him out of the room anyway. They took the elevator to the lobby, where Finn paid his tab, and then drove out into the deserted streets of midnight London.

They turned onto Fifth Avenue, and Finn began scanning the numbers for fourteen seventy, which he found to the left. He tapped on the door, and Zundapp answered, allowing them entry. The magenta sportscar spotted her older dark green counterpart waiting patiently for something in the corner of the foyer, and she raised an eyelid.

Finn, Zundapp, and Shorts met in a side room and began to talk in low voices. "We have six hours before the rest of the facility staff is around to know what's going on, and by then Montgomery will have rallied the troops to hunt for us in every corner of London," Finn said. "We can't stay here; we have to be gone by morning."

"Where to next?" Shorts asked, giving Finn a flat, condescending look.

"Radiator Springs."

"Well, that makes sense. This time of year there are few tourists," Zundapp added.

"I've hidden a famous racer there with only that minor complication to his stay."

"Can you guarantee that she won't be found?" Zundapp asked, looking at Finn.

"I guarnatee nothing, but if I were a betting car, I'd bet that they wouldn't look for her there."

"What do we do with the other one?" Shorts asked.

"Zundapp, keep him with you, in case someone in your circle needs a new engine, for whatever reason. I have my concerns, which I'm sure you know well. I want to have every confidence that they will be addressed." Shorts glanced at Zundapp, who seemed as calm and indifferent as ever, and Finn continued, "Now that that's settled, I have to call a plane about a flight, and Zundapp, I believe you have to do the same thing."

"And I need to talk to a train about getting me to my hometown in Germany," Zundapp replied.

"I expect you'll stay in touch?" Zundapp nodded. "Excellent. I'll call that plane, and then we'll pack up and part ways." Shorts and Zundapp nodded.

CARS

The girl kept close to Finn throughout the flight, and as they prepared to land, he said, "I wouldn't try to go to Los Angeles if I were you."

"Why should I?" Shorts replied. "I'll get arrested again, and then they might ship me back to that freakshow. Not a hope in hell am I gonna let that happen."

"Alright, try to get to Toronto, and if you see a royal blue Mustang, tell him I sent you. He'll understand."

"Got it."

"We're touching down," Siddeley said over the intercom.

"Thank you, Siddeley."

Siddeley dropped his loading ramp, and Shorts, Finn, and the girl deplaned. "Get to Toronto, and if you can, find that Mustang, and tell him I sent you." Shorts nodded and drove off down Route Sixty-Six, toward Chicago, Finn noted ans he turned to the girl. "Let's find you somewhere to live where you won't attract attention."

She drove out across the desert to the road, moving along slowly, keeping close to the shoulder line. Finn drove next to her, keeping pace with her and watching out for traffic. They reached Radiator Springs to find a few of the residents gathered at the V8 Diner, Holley and Mater included. Holley rushed forward on sight. "Thank the Manufacturer you're alive," she cried.

"Not for long, if I'm found," Finn replied. "I'm here to find a good family for this little girl." He gestured to the small magenta sportscar.

"Shoot, Lightning 'n' Sally'll take her," Mater said.

"Yeah, of course we will," Sally said, rolling forward. "I'll have to go through the legal process, of course, but I think we can handle that tomorrow."

"Thank you, so much," Finn said.

"Not a problem at all. It's a pleasure."

Finn gently nudged the sportscar forward, whispering words of encouragement, and said, "Take good care of her. Some very bad cars want her dead."

"What?"

"Hopefully you will never have to meet them, but I have to tell you on the off chance that you do meet them. I want you to understand that it could get very, very dangerous."

"Okay," Sally said after a moment spent looking around and blinking uncertainly.

"I've got to be off. I can't stay in one place for very long, especially now."

"See ya 'round, Finn," Mater said.

Finn nodded and drove back toward where he left Siddeley.

CARS

Zundapp settled into his chair and looked out the window as the train zipped by through the German countryside. The car's phone rang, and he pressed a button. "Ja?" he asked.

"Professor, I don't mean to call you so late, but it's an emergency," Tubbs Pacer said on the other end of the line. "My grandnephew's seriously sick, and the doctors are sayin' they can't fix it."

"Describe to me the nature of his illness."

"Engine infection. It's real bad. The thing needs replacing or he'll die."

"How old is your grandnephew?"

"About four."

Zundapp glanced at the green sportscar he shared the car with. "Where is he now?"

"At a hospital whose name I can't say to save my life."

"Can you give me its address?" With a little pronunciation help on his part, Zundapp got an address out of the Pacer. "I'm on my way."

"I can't thank you enough, Professor."

"Tell him to try to sleep, and don't ask about my methods. Do you understand?"

"Absolutely, Professor."

"Good." Zundapp hung up and said over the intercom, "Change of plans," and then gave the address.

"You've got it," the train replied.

Zundapp rolled out of his chair and approached the sportscar, who watched with a curious, slightly nervous expression. "Open the hood," he said, and the car complied. Zundapp studied the engine, comparing it to his mental image of a Pacer engine. "Vundervagen," he whispered. From a nearby cabinet, he removed a series of instruments, and he set to work.

CARS

Zundapp and a trio of forklifts, two supporting a small engine between them, drove into the hospital's waiting room, where Tubbs could be seen breathing a sigh of relief. The third forklift asked for the Pacer's hospital room, and they turned left down the hall and into the room. A four-year-old aquamarine Pacer with tan patches along the hood, front side panels, and front bumper slept in the bed, and Zundapp gestured to the two forklifts who supported the engine. He opened the hood and began the replacement process.

The seriously infected engine was placed in the nearest biohazard container, and none of the four operators were fully willing to touch it, or thought it would be possible to do so safely as it was largely covered in patches of light yellow that hardly seemed natural.

He put the new engine into the Pacer, making any necessary last minute modifications, of which there were few, and then closed the hood and gestured for the forklifts to leave. He drove back to the waiting room. "He'll be alright," he said.

"Thanks, Professor," Tubbs replied.

"Not a problem. Though I would like to ask you, what brings you to Germany?"

"Inter-family business."

"With the Hugos?"

"Yeah."

"Ah."

"Thanks again, Professor. Really."

"Not a problem. Now, I'd like to return to my hometown."

"Okay. No problem, no problem. None at all."

Zundapp nodded and drove out of the hospital.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER

Lexie raced over the desert, landing easily after catching some air off a bump in her path. She knew almost instinctively that she was going around four hundred miles an hour and was over eight hundred miles from Radiator Springs. She'd been driving for two hours, and it would take her another two hours to return.

She slowed and pulled a U-turn before returning to her previous speed. She slowed again upon entering the town and finally parked next to Lightning at the V8 Diner. "Enjoy your drive?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "How's prep for your race season goin'?"

"It's goin'. Can't wait till I'm on the track, though."

"Just drive, Dad, just like you always told me Doc told you."

"Yeah," Lightning said with a nod and a distant expression. Then he looked at Lexie. "I think it's high time you come with me on the circuit."

"You wanna take me with you?"

"Yeah, of course I do. Whaddaya say?"

Lexie let out a disbelieving laugh. "Count me in."

"Great. The season starts in a couple weeks, so you've got some time to get ready."

"I've been getting ready for this my whole life. I was born for something like this." A strange light flashed in Lightning's eyes, and she asked, "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing."

"Dad?" she asked slowly.

Lightning sighed. "You know you're adopted, right?"

"Sorta, but you said I just appeared out of nowhere with Finn, and he basically left me here at the mercy of the legal system."

"Yeah. He told Sally some bad cars want you dead, that we hopefully wouldn't meet them, but we needed to know that in case they came after you. They haven't yet, thankfully, but he was pretty worried about it."

"Why?"

"He would never say, not even the few times he came back since then."

"Huh. Interesting. I'll have to talk to him when he comes back."

"Or you could talk to Holley. She comes around more often."

"I'll do that."

Lightning nodded, and Lexie studied the rest of Radiator Springs. A few Italian Ferarris were doing business in Luigi's Casa Della Tires, undoubtedly making the Fiat's day. Minnie and Van were listening to another of Mater's tall tales about a spy adventure, possibly adapted from what Holley was allowed to tell him. She smirked when she thought of how the purple spy car would feel if she knew what her stories were doing to tourists in this town, and she shook her hood and laughed softly.

Sally and Flo were entertaining some female tourists with tales from their lives before Radiator Springs. Fillmore and Sarge were at it again, bickering in between trying to sell their products. And all Lexie could think was of how fortunate she was to live in such a strange patchwork of a community.

CARS

"Seventeen years here and we haven't found a bloody thing," DJ whispered, peering at the street from the shadows of the alley.

"Dude, you sound so British," Wingo replied, fighting an impending laughing fit.

"I thought we all did," Snot Rod said, looking at Wingo.

"Enough," Boost snapped. "No way this is natural. That Montgomery fella may have called us here, but Deej is right. It's been seventeen years, and we haven't found anything. Something's up."

"So, we did find something?" Snot Rod asked.

"Yep. The head honcho himself."

"What?" the other three asked.

"Just like with Holley and Shorts. Let's go." With that, the four tuners drove out of their alley hiding place and into traffic.

CARS

Lexie drove into the diner, where residents and tourists were engaging in casual conversation. A flash of purple in her peripheral vision arrested her attention, and she drove over to meet the car. "Here to see Mater?" she asked.

"Why else would I be here?" Holley replied.

"He's pickin' somebody up right now, but he'll be back soon." Holley smiled. "Can...I ask you something?"

"Absolutely."

"Why would anyone be after me?"

Holley's smile faded, and she watched Lexie with surprised, nervous eyes. "Where did you hear that?" she breathed, fear seeping into her voice.

"From my parents. Apparently, when Finn dropped me off, he said bad cars were after me."

Holley gestured for Lexie to come closer, and she whispered, "I don't know all that much, but I'm fairly certain he was right. I'd try to put you in touch with him, but I can't take the risk of either him or myself being found by them."

"So...bad's an understatement?"

"That's the way I understand it. I'm not as close to the case as Finn is, so I would wait for him to appear out of nowhere again."

"I'm only gonna be here for a couple weeks. Dad wants me to go to his races."

"Oh, good." She lowered her voice further and added, "I'm sure he'll be able to find you if need be."

"Miss Holley," Mater called.

"Enjoy your stay," Lexie said, driving off without really being sure where she was going.

CARS

"Thank you for having me, Professor," Finn said as he looked at the car on the boat deck next to him. "It's a shame I can't stay longer."

"It would be impractical. We have to establish proof of life," Zundapp replied.

"She's not a hostage."

"We don't know that. That's why we need to establish proof of life." Finn nodded and looked out over the sea as they drifted across it. "What do you know of Montgomery's position?"

"We have reason to believe he's somewhere in Western Europe, based off the concentration of scrambled signals that can't be accounted for."

"We should be safe."

"And we'll have to find Shorts again, to establish proof of life for him."

"He'll live. He's tough."

Finn shook his hood. "I don't know if I'll ever fully understand you."

"Do you need to?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I knew a car whom I thought was an ally who sold our secrets to the Soviets."

"What could I gain from such a thing?"

"That was an example. My point is that you never know exactly who to trust in this world. I need to be sure of what I'm getting into."

Zundapp nodded and dropped the conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Boost peered around the corner at the seemingly inconspicuous light grey building. "Okay, if anyone asks, we're goin' in to report back, got it?" he asked. He could see his three friends nod in his mirror, and he gestured for them to follow him around the corner.

They approached the building, and Boost found himself scanning for security officers every five seconds. Once they reached the door, he ran his tire over the scanner and allowed the others to pass through the door before taking up the rear. "Where to?" Wingo whispered, despite the fact that the room the tuners entered seemed empty.

"Follow Snotty," Boost replied.

"Me? Why?" Snot Rod asked.

"You know why. Just drive."

"Okay." Snot Rod drove forward, and Boost, Wingo, and DJ followed. "Am I goin' to the right place?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." He led them down a corridor, and then they turned right. Boost glanced in his mirror, but he and his friends weren't being followed. That didn't mean they weren't being watched, however, a fact Montgomery demonstrated on multiple meetings. "The saying is that walls have eyes," he said. Snot Rod nodded and turned left. He slipped aside and let DJ drive into the security room. DJ pressed a few buttons, and the cameras switched off. "Okay, let's go."

The four drove down to Montgomery's office, and DJ asked, "What're we lookin' for?"

"Any kinda clue or anythin'."

DJ went straight to the computer, and after a few attempts, logged on as Montgomery. He opened the documents folder and selected one of the items at random. A world map with the current positions of several cars appeared. A red dot labeled 'M' was somewhere on the coast of England. "Guess it's safe to say that's Montgomery."

"Yeah. Looks like he won't know about this for a while, if he doesn't know already somehow. What else is here?"

DJ opened another document, a list of what appeared to be names or titles. "'Mahogany, Blue Roses, Ceres?' Wow, this guy is weird."

"What are these?"

"Project names," Snot Rod said. "Somebody in Spain said something about Blue Roses, like it was some sort of top secret rocket or something."

"And they're hyperlinked," DJ said. "I'm kinda curious about this Ceres one."

"Well, check it out," Boost replied.

DJ clicked on 'Ceres' and studied the file produced. One image, a prominent one, showed, in panels, Finn McMissile, Professor Zundapp, Shorts, and a black Aston Martin the caption named as Alan deCarteran. "Weird," Wingo whispered. Boost rolled back, his lungs feeling as if the air had been ripped out of them.

"Kind of a motley group for a project," Snot Rod said.

"Exactly," DJ replied. "This looks pretty high profile, considering the cars here. Shorts, a top black-market parts dealer. Zundapp, AKA Shotgun Willie, legendary weapons developer. Finn, we know, of course." He called up another window and ran a search on deCarteran. "Says here deCarteran's got a record of switching back and forth between his real name and an alias, Jackson Dalloway, but other than that, he's just as reclusive as Montgomery."

"Why does that matter?" Boost asked.

"Eyes on the inside," Wingo replied. "Montgomery must've been keeping watch on the project, but only the Manufacturer knows why."

"Possibly to get really detailed records. Must've been important," Snot Rod said.

DJ scrolled down the file, revealing another pair of images, one of a dark green, three-year-old sportscar and another of a younger, female, magenta sportscar. Underneath, the caption read, 'Products, much better than expected, reported missing.' The date the two cars disappeared coincided to a date seventeen years prior. "Can we get VIN numbers, y'know, find them?" Wingo asked.

After a few more clicks, DJ said, "The green one's dead, but the magenta one got out alive. She just got listed on the race team register for Team McQueen, under Alexa McQueen."

"Which means we know where to find her," Boost said. "Does she even know anything about this thing?"

"Doubtful, but likely."

"What else is there on this Ceres thing?"

"Basically a timetable. First a concept, then a concept car, then something more practical. There's a note here that the green one was unnaturally obedient, so the magenta one was made, with a few tweaks to the operating system but the same features otherwise."

"Why is it important for the car to not be obedient?" Wingo asked.

"Doesn't say. Really this is all we got."

"Anything else on the system as a whole?" Boost asked. DJ entered the query into the search box, but came up with only the one document and the timetable.

"Guess we have to find this girl, then. Or these cars who worked on this thing."

"We'd better, if Montgomery's lookin' for her. Jus' to be safe, of course."

"Well, what're we doin' waitin' around here and yappin' our bumpers off?" Wingo asked. "Montgomery could get back before we even get out of England, and everybody knows we're not supposed to be doin' what we're doin'."

"He's right. Let's shut up and place a phone call. We gotta get out of Dodge while we still can."

CARS

"Dad, this guy Harv is asking for you," Lexie called, driving out of the Cozy Cone lobby.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Lighting replied as he drove out of the V8 Cafe. She watched him enter the lobby, and then she scanned the rest of Radiator Springs. Things hadn't changed much in the past week, save a slight increase in the number of tourists passing through the town.

A black and gold Mitsubishi drove into town from the west, and Lexie drove forward to meet him. "What brings you here?" she asked.

"Just drivin' around," he replied.

"Hey...you sound familiar. Do I know you?"

"We met, but you were real young."

"So refresh my memory. Who are you?"

"Call me Shorts."

"Oh, yeah. You're that ex-parts dealer."

"Damn, word travels fast."

"This is a tourist town."

Shorts laughed. "Reminds me of the world I was forced to leave, before you were even thought of, at least by us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, me, Finn, deCarteran, and Professor Zundapp."

"Before I was even thought of? I mean, I know I was adopted, but I wasn't expecting a foursome to fit into the equation."

"Look, I can't say a lot because I don't know a lot, but if you see a black Aston Martin and he's a he, don't trust him, because ten bucks says its deCarteran, and that tailpipe's a traitor. If you see a silver-blue Aston Martin or a Zundapp Janus, no sweat. They're good cars; they're on our side."

"You say it like we know each other and there's some kind of war goin' on."

"That's kinda how it is."

"So what's really going on?"

"I told you I don't know a whole lot, so I can't tell you a lot. I could call Finn, tell him you're curious, startin' to ask questions, but it'll be a few days before he gets here."

"Guess again," a smooth English voice said. Shorts and Lexie turned to face the speaker.

"Finn, you've appeared yet again," Lexie replied.

"Sorry it's been so long, but if it weren't for the Professor, I'd still be on the other side of the Atlantic. Ah, Shorts, you're still alive. I was going to find you, but it's nice to know that I don't have to."

"What're you doing here?"

"Establishing proof of life for the both of you. Smile for the camera." Without waiting for them to do so, he took a picture of the both of them.

"I was gonna call you and tell you she was gettin' curious," Shorts said.

"Oh, were you?" Finn asked, looking at Lexie.

"Actually, yeah, I was. Am," Lexie replied.

"Well, where would you like me to begin?"

"How much do you know?"

"About as much as Shorts does concerning this matter. How much do you know?"

"Basically that I was adopted, which basically means dropped off here, by you, no less, oh, and you said certain cars were after me."

"I wouldn't say such a thing if I had any reason to lie."

"So cars really are after me. Why?"

Finn looked around and licked his bumper. "Oh, how do I say this?" He whispered. He sighed and added, "We had no choice but to create the two of you, the green one first. We were all prisoners, except perhaps deCarteran, who was more of a spy for our captor."

"Your captor?"

"Chief Daniel Montgomery, British Intelligence."

"And certifiable nutjob," Shorts added.

"Wait, there's another one of me?" Lexie asked.

"There was. We built him frist, largely because we were pressed for time, but we built you to correct some issues we saw in him." After a moment, he asked, "Are you keeping up?"

"Sort of. I'm having a little trouble wrapping my mind around being built by a quartet of hostages for some shadowy mastermind who's pretending to be a good car, but other than that, I'm doin' okay so far."

"We don't know much ourselves."

"I know. You're doin' your best."

"Thank you."

"So, what happened next?"

"Three of us spent several months plotting our escape, in the dead of night, and after we built you, a considerably younger version, the time came. We split the two of you up, and I brought you here."

"What happened to the other one?"

"You'll have to ask the Professor for detalis, but as far as I know, he was killed for surgical purposes." Lexie felt the color drain from her face.

"The world ain't pretty," Shorts said.

"I know, but how often do you hear something like this, honestly?" Lexie asked.

"Very seldom, I'm sure," Finn replied.

"See?"

"Why don't we let this settle in before moving on, shall we?"

"Sure, I guess."

"I'll have to get in touch with the Professor before moving forward, but as always, if you have any questions, ask me."

"Will do. I better go, anyway. Dad's probably back from talking to that Harv guy." Lexie drove toward the Cozy Cone without waiting for a response.

"Why'd you have to establish proof of life for me?" Shorts asked, giving Finn a sidelong look.

"Consider it a precaution. If Montgomery's looking for us, I want to make sure we haven't been found."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Finn settled into the open space next to Mater, just outside the town in general. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park," Mater replied, and Finn chuckled softly. "Didncha hear? Lexie McQueen's comin' with us this season."

"Good thing I got here when I did, then."

"Why?"

"Let's say I have a vested interest in her welfare."

"Ain't some bad cars after her?"

"Yes. I take it you've heard the story."

"Yep, from Lightnin' and Miss Sally."

"So straight from the horse's mouth."

"Uh-huh."

"That's the best place to hear things from, I believe."

"That a spy thing?"

"Yes."

Mater nodded, and Finn looked out over the desert. "Holley was right. You have a nice taste in places to take up residence."

"Thanks."

"Mater, as long as you're going with Team McQueen, I'm going to have to ask you to do me a favor."

"Ah course."

"I want you to make sure nothing happens to McQueen's daughter. It's absolutely imperative that she remains safe and sound, and out of the tires of Alan deCarteran or Chief Montgomery."

"Who?"

"I'll put it this way. If you see a black Aston Martin or a silver Scion tC, get Alexa into a public place as quickly as possible, and get in touch with me immediately. Call Sid and ask for me expressly."

"If I see a black Aston Martin or a silver Scion tC, get Lexie to a public place and call you immediately. Got it."

"Excellent. I have every confidence in you."

"Uh, thanks, Finn."

"You're welcome," Finn said with a smile.

CARS

"And you're sure she'll be safe?" Holley asked after she and Finn drove into Siddeley's cabin.

"I'm a hundred percent positive," Finn replied. "I'm leaving her under Mater's watch, and I have a very strong feeling McQueen will also be vigilant. This is his daughter we're dealing with." Finn drove over to the computer and typed in a phone number.

A short time later, Zundapp asked, "Is this important?"

"Are you in the middle of something?"

"You answer my question, and I'll answer yours."

"Yes, this is important. I've established proof of life for both Alexa and Shorts."

"That was fast."

"Now, are you in the middle of something?"

"I was about to get in touch with a few old associates. We're going to need a wider net if we want to find Montgomery."

"I'll let you do that, not that you need my permission. I'll have to find a few cars myself."

Zundapp gave a quick, "_Auf Viedersehen_," before the line went dead.

"That was fast," Holley said.

"Exactly. The Professor is rather busy for a car far past his prime." Finn pressed a few more buttons, ending in an 'enter' button that allowed him to place a call to Boost.

"Yeah?" the tuner replied.

"How are you? You have a slight accent."

"Seventeen years in England does that to you."

"It was Montgomery, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, and he kept us real busy, too. We only just figured it out, and he's on vacation or something just north of here, on the coast."

"Just north of you?"

"Yep."

"We're on our way. Siddeley, set a course for London, if you would."

"Already on it," Siddeley replied, firing his afterburners.

"Thank you. We're on our way."

"Great," Boost said. "We'll be here."

CARS

Siddeley landed, and Finn and Holley deplaned. Finn scanned the airport, filled with spy planes and spy cars. On the other side of the fence to his right, a Pacer met his gaze and then turned away. He studied the rest of the fence several meters in front of him, spotting a cluster of sportscars near the corner of the airfield. The exit was only about three meters away from the cluster of sportscars. "This is going to be tricky," he said.

"Not for long," Holley replied as she rolled up beside Finn. She drove up to the sportscars and said, "Excuse me, gentlemen, but my partner and I have a very important meeting to attend, and we can't possibly be late."

"Why should we care?" the lead sportscar asked.

"You leave me no choice, then." She systematically tased each of the cars until they were unconscious and then turned to Finn and flashed her headlights.

"Nice work," he said when he reached her. "Now, let's find our tuners."

They drove through the opening of the fence and wove through the streets of London. Finn made eye contact with a few other lemons as they drove through the city.

"Why are all these lemons watching us?" Holley asked in a low voice.

"They're not watching us," Finn replied. "They're looking for Montgomery."

"Why?"

"It's not like we can search for him ourselves. As long as he's on the BI payroll and his position still stands, it's too risky for us."

Holley nodded, but hier bumper, and scanned the street. "I'm surprised it still matters."

"Actually, it was the Professor's idea. I just understand the logic behind such a course of action."

"But if it's the Professor's idea, then how do you know he's not after us?"

"Right now, we have a common enemy with a shadowy plot. Zundapp wouldn't take the chance of killing those he needs alive."

"And what about when we're no longer needed?"

"Then if he wants to, he'll try to kill us. If he doesn't, we have at best a few years before he croaks, at which point we'll be safer, or you will, if I've joined our dear German friend."

"That makes me feel so much better."

"That's the most optimistic I can be, and we have larger fish to fry than the Professor and his mob associates. First, we have to find the tuners, and then we have to start figuring out Montgomery's plan in earnest." A flash of blue arrested his attention, and he added, "Looks like another two birds and one stone day for us."

Holley and Finn drove toward the light grey building, and DJ met them at the door. "You here for the meeting?" he asked.

"Of course," Finn replied. "Why else would we be here?"

"Okay, come in." Once in the building, DJ added, "We found the guy's file on somethin called the Ceres. Says you and a few others were in on it, that one of the Ceres cars turned up dead, the other got out okay. Got VIN numbers for them both, found out she was on her way to the races."

"So Montgomery probably already knows her position. The question is, why doesn't he just find her and take her? He obviously has the means to do so."

"Maybe it's an appearances thing."

"Perhaps. Have you found anything else?"

"We just got here. Figured you'd come here first if you got our message."

"Has someone been keeping watch since you arrived?"

"We all have."

DJ led the other two to a room in the back, where Boost, Wingo, and Snot Rod waited. "Well, gentlemen, you called us, and we're here. What's our next move?" Finn asked.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Lexie took a deep breath and followed Lightning, Sarge, Mack, Fillmore, Mater, Luigi, and Guido out of Radiator Springs to the farewells of the other residents. "This is it, baby girl," Lightning said. "You ready for some races?"

"I guess. I mean, I've listened to 'em on the radio, but this is nuts," Lexie replied. "They're in person, and my dad's racing. Can't get much better than that."

Lightning laughed. "True, true."

"You ain't seen nuthin' yet," Mater said. "One time, I gotta go on a secret mission."

"Here he goes again."

"C'mon, Dad, let's hear the story again," Lexie said.

She could see Guido roll his eyes and Fillmore and Sarge lapse into an argument. "Can't hurt the kid," Mack said.

"Oh, I know that. Besides, I haven't said no."

"Sweet," Mater exclamed, and he launched into his tale.

CARS

The four hours flew by as Mater wove stranger and stranger tales that Lexie listened to with increasing degrees of skepticisim. Once they reached Los Angeles, she asked, "Oh, we're here already?"

"Yeah, we are," Lightning replied. "Time flies, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does. Startin' here this time and then circling back?"

"Pretty much. You think you're up for this?"

"Dad, this is a McQueen you're talkin' to. We McQueens can handle anything, remember?"

"And how."

"That story about how lemons tried to kill you is true, isn't it?" Lightning nodded. "Well, good thing they didn't succeed."

"Yeah," he said with a laugh, shaking his hood. "Well, c'mon. We've got a scene to check out." The team drove through the door to the race track, Lightning and Lexie in the lead. Once the group reached the pits, Lexie instinctually scanned the area. "What's up?" Lightning asked.

"Just think we're being watched, is all. All eyes in the nation will be on this track in a few days," she replied. "Wanna be sure nothing bad will happen, though I doubt it unless the perp wants to be all over the news."

"Oookay."

"Can ya blame her?" Sarge asked. "Some Big Oil bigwig could be tryin' to kill us all again."

"Or somebody from the mob," Mater added.

"Point is, I'm trying to be careful," Lexie said. "Things go wrong at races that shouldn't go wrong at all, and if that happens, I wanna know about it, especially if you're involved, Dad."

"Uh, thanks, I think," Lightning said.

"Well, I don't see or sense anything, so we're good, for now."

"Okay, anyway, are we good with the track layout?"

"One question, Dad. Why isn't there any dirt?"

CARS

"I'm pleased to report that the girl has been found," deCarteran said, peering out of his narrow hidey-hole and across the track to pit row. "My question is why this hasn't happened sooner."

"You don't ask the questions," Montgomery replied from the other end of the line. "I have my reasons. An extraction team for the both of you will arrive within the week. Wait for them, and don't make any foolish mistakes."

deCarteran nodded. "I understand."

"You'd better. Wait for the extraction team, and do nothing more than monitor her movements."

"Understood."

CARS

Zundapp pressed the record button, finishing the recording, and pressed another button. "Put me on the phone with Finn McMissile," he said.

After a few rings, Finn said, "Professor, what a surprise."

"We have a problem."

"What sort of problem?"

CARS

"What's an extraction team?" Axle asked.

"Basically a group of agents remove someone from a situation considered undesirable by the car sending the extraction team," Finn replied on the other end of the line.

"And one's comin' here? Why?"

"For Alexa and deCarteran. Montgomery's finally found her, and how he wants to get her back, along with the agent that found her."

"Why'd it take so long for them to find some girl?"

"We're not entirely sure, but the prevailing theory is that Montgomery is trying to keep up appearances, essential for a line of work such as ours."

"Still, what does he want with her?"

"This girl, Alexa, is a Ceres. I can't tell you what that means, but it is imperative that if you see any suspicious activity throughout the next week, you must act quickly. Alexa is a magenta two-door sportscar of seventeen. If anything happens, find her, establish proof of life for her, and get her to safety, first and foremost."

"How do I know what I'm looking for?"

"Typically Montgomery's personal agents are silver or black sportscars, and an extraction team is four cars at most."

"Okay, got it. Wait, don't you want to know about it?"

"Not until after the fact. Don't waste your time trying to contact me when it could jeopardize Alexa's life."

"You really care about this Ceres thing."

"We all do."

"We?"

"Myself, the Professor, and your old friend Shorts."

"He's involved?"

"Yes. It's a long story that I'll tell you later. For now, watch for extraction teams, or groups of sportscars that seem suspicious, and act. I don't care how. Just act."

"Okay."

"Now that that matter's understood, I have to go. Good luck, Axle."

"Thanks, Finn."

The line went dead, and Axle rolled back a couple of feet with a heavy sigh. He shook his head and drove into his garage.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Lexie awoke with a start, but she didn't remember having any sort of nightmare. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, settling onto her chassis and chalking her sudden awakening up to nerves over the upcoming race.

After several moments of sleep's refusal to arrive, she opened her eyes and looked at her sleeping father. She rolled over and settled in at his side, leaning in toward him. Again, she closed her eyes, but she didn't want to fall asleep just yet. Her mind wandered through the memories as they appeared to her.

It'd been a long time since she awoke in the middle of the night for any reason, and even longer since she had a nightmare. She let out a sigh.

Here she was, in a strange city, and Team McQueen was the only group of cars she knew. She was going to see a race in person for the first time, so why shouldn't she be nervous?

"Have a nightmare, baby girl?" Lightning asked in a groggy voice.

"Not sure," Lexie replied. "I didn't know you were up."

"Barely."

"Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't bother me. You're my baby girl." He nudged her tire gently.

"Dad, we've got a big week ahead of us."

"That why you're up?"

"Probably."

"Probably?"

"Remember when I thought I was being watched this morning?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe I really was, because I kinda felt like that when I woke up. Someone was watching me."

"Well, if this is true, I wanna know who it is."

"Okay. Can I watch?"

"Go ahead."

Lexie smirked. "Thanks, Dad."

"No problem, kiddo."

CARS

Lexie awoke again, more slowly, to the light of the sun filtering through the curtains and into the room. She had the impression that Finn was on his way, but she wasn't sure why or where this came from. It reminded her of the previous night, but somehow, she couldn't put the pieces together. "Okay," she whispered to herself. "Maybe you're losing your mind and about to crack from the stress. This is a huge step for you, a circuit with your dad, meet all the big players, go to the Grand Prix, make a whole ton of connections for when you join the circuit. Can you handle this?" She smirked. "Yes you can. You're a McQueen. You can handle anything. Now get out there and handle it, whatever it is."

She drove out of the room, down the hall, and down the ramp to the breakfast room, where the rest of Team McQueen was waiting. "You're up early," Lightning said.

"You call this early?" Sarge snapped, giving Lightning a confused, annoyed look.

"For me, yeah," Lexie said. "Usually I sleep in until three in strange places."

"First circuit, long story," Lightning added with a light chuckle. "What surprises me more is that the press hasn't shown up yet. Typically we'd be swarmed by now."

Lexie smiled and shook her hood. "I'm in for it."

"Yep, you better believe it." Lightning gave her tire a playful shove and laughed. "Hope you're up for it."

"Oh, Ford, Dad."

CARS

Finn drove into the V8 Cafe, his eyes scanning the remaining residents of Radiator Springs. Holley drove into the diner and said, "A day on the Mother Road and, if you're lucky, you'll cross two state lines."

"I'll need that kind of luck," Finn replied. He lowered his voice and added, "Montgomery's sending an extraction team after Alexa and deCarteran."

"How much time do we have?"

"Only a few days, after which time it will be too risky for either side to move anywhere."

"So I guess the only question is, will you need backup?"

Finn smiled. "Are you up for it?"

"I'm up for anything, Finn. You should know me better than that."

The Aston Martin laughed, closed his eyes, and shook his hood. After a moment, he looked around again. Flo approached them and asked, "Can I get you two anything?"

"Nothing for me, thank you," Holley replied.

"Actually, I think I'll have some gas," Finn replied.

"Got somewhere to be?" Flo asked.

"You could say that."

Flo nodded, and Finn lined himself up with the pump. After filling his tank and paying his tab, he exchanged a few pleasantries with the Sheriff and looked at Holley. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Holley replied. "Are you?"

"Absolutely."

Holley nodded and followed Finn out of Radiator Springs.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

True to form, within two days, Team McQueen was swarmed with paparazzi. Lexie's eyes were forced to adjust constantly to the flashbulbs, but she remained as close to her father as possible. "How long does this last?" she asked.

"Until a few days after the race. You'll get used to it," Lightning replied.

Through the flashbulbs, Lexie struggled to see the cars doing the actual picture-taking, but she couldn't make any specific types out. Team McQueen made their way through the crowd to the race track, followed by the cameras and hordes of reporters with their multitude of questions. "Did this give you a headache at first?"

"Yep. Still does sometimes."

Lexie squeezed her eyes shut, but the afterimages of bulbs danced across her eyelids. Someone in this crowd was watching her specifically; she could feel it, but she couldn't tell exactly who in this crowd it was. Finally, she opened her eyes. Team McQueen was entering the stadium and, thankfully, the custody of stadium security. Lexie followed the rest of the team to pit row while her father drove to the starting line.

She looked up at the screen directly across from pit row, where the image of her father waited at the starting line, breathing deeply. Then Lightning shot off. Lexie watched as he shot past pit row again and again, ten times in all, before pulling in. "How was that?" he asked.

"Dad, I'm beginning to think you don't really need the practice," Lexie replied.

"Well I've been driving on dirt for so long I wanted to make sure I didn't forget how to drive on asphalt."

"Well, he is Lightnin'," Mater said. "He can handle anythin'. He's the fastest car in the world."

"Okay, Mater, I better stop you now before you launch into your little speech there. I think being noticed is starting to freak my daugher out, so please, don't draw even more attention to us."

Mater stood at attention. "You got it, McQueen," he said. "Ain't nothin' happenin' to her under my watch."

"Good to know."

Mater rolled forward and whispered loudly, "Besides, Finn told me to make sure she's okay. Won't tell me why, though."

"Mater, maybe you should shut up," Lexie said. "Walls have ears, and I don't want any of them hearing anything that can be used against us."

"Oh, right. Yeah. That's a good idea right there."

"Thanks."

"So, how's it look for me?" Lightning asked.

"Pretty dang good," Lexie replied. "You're gonna get 'em, Dad."

CARS

The practice session over, Team McQueen made their way back to the hotel. Lexie could feel someone watching her, for the umpteenth time in the past few days, and glanced in her mirrors. At first, she couldn't see anyone in them, but then she noticed something and turned to face it. "I'll catch up," she called to the others. Only Lightning and Mater hung back and watched her.

She scanned the hotel lobby when, without warning, someone shot a taser at her. She rushed to the side, narrowly missing the prongs, and scanned the crowd for the car that fired the shot. Holley looked around and then said, "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"We're trying to help you," Finn said, rolling out of the crowd. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere else."

Lexie glanced back at Mater and Lightning, who exchanged looks and nodded. "Okay," she said to the two British cars, "but it'd better be a public place, like a park. I'm not stupid."

"Of this we're sure," Holley said. Lexie gestured for the two to lead the way and followed them out the lobby, down the street, and into the nearest park. "Finn, you know more about this than I do, so you start."

Finn nodded and looked at Lexie. "An extraction team has been dispatched to get you."

"By whom?" Lexie asked.

"British Spy Car Chief Daniel Montgomery."

"And he's a bad car?"

"Yes, precisely. He gave the order for you to be built."

"Why?"

"We don't know yet, but we're here to make sure you're alright and that the extraction team hasn't gottent to you yet."

"Well, I guess you're in luck, because I'm still here."

"And the team will be soon. You've already been found."

"By Montgomery's flunkies?"

"Yes. You have good instincts, better than I expected."

"You four planned everything out?"

"You know about them?" Holley asked.

"Yes, we did," Finn said to Lexie. "To an extent. There are, of course, things that we can't control, but we did our best with the objectives we were given."

"Shorts told me," Lexie said to Holley. "Montgomery gave you objectives, like he wanted something specific?" she asked Finn.

"He did, though as I said, we're not sure what. However, to three of us, it was imperative that you weren't obedient."

"Why?"

"We wanted to ensure that if enemies of either us or Montgomery got to you, you wouldn't blindly do as they commanded. Consider it our expression that cars deserve the power of choice."

"Don't most cars believe that?"

"Yes, but there are some that don't, as is to be expected."

"Okay, so let me make sure I have this straight. Montgomery commissioned me, getting you guys to build me by taking you hostage, and since I'm somehow not working with him, he's going to send an extraction team for me?"

"Yes, exactly."

"That leaves one question: why am I not on Montgomery's team like I obviously should be?"

"The Professor, Shorts, and I got you out through a carefully planned escape banking on deCarteran's obedience to Montgomery. We're against them now in earnest."

"Couldn't this wait until after at least the first race?"

"No. The team will be here within the week, for both you and deCarteran, the car who found you."

"For Montgomery."

"Precisely."

"How'd you get here so fast?"

"We refused to sleep," Holley said. "Rather, Finn did," she added with a yawn.

"You guys need a place to stay tonight? I think there are a few vacancies back at our hotel."

"Oh, thank you," Finn said.

"Yeah, you guys look like you could really use some sleep. Anyway, I know you know where the hotel is, and I'd better be heading back anyway. Dad and Mater are probably worried sick."

"We'll come with you."

"Not like I have much of a choice."

The three drove back to the hotel, Lexie in the lead this time, and once they entered the lobby, Lightning drove up to her and asked, "What happened?"

"Basically he was right when he said bad cars were after me, because now they're sending an extraction team," Lexie replied in a low voice, watching Finn and Holley check in. "Kind of complicated, but I guess not really."

"I guess so. That's what happens when you're dealing with Mater's girlfriend, though."

"Yeah."

Finn and Holley drove over to them. "Everything alright over here?" Finn asked.

"Oh, yeah, peachy," Lightning replied. "You guys okay?"

"We are now."

"Everything's going to be fine," Holley added. "We're just not sure how."

"I'd ask you what that means, but I'll spitball here and say you can't tell me," Lightning said. "Anyway, what room do you have? We'll help you find it."

"Oh, thank you."

"We're in Three Seventeen," Finn said as he, Holley, Lexie, Lightning, and Mater drove down the corridor.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Finn rolled away from the window, drawing the curtains. Holley kept her voice low as she said, "I don't think Montgomery would've waited this long by choice." Finn turned toward her. "I don't know him as well as you do, but I know enough to say that, I believe."

"So what is his reason?" Finn asked, also in a low voice.

She rolled toward him. "He couldn't trace Alexa's signal. She's been scrambling it unintentionally. That was the impression I got during our conversation with her."

"You tried to get the signal of her onboard computer?"

She nodded. "I had to be sure she wasn't on their side, but I couldn't get a fix on anything."

"So you therefore believe Montgomery wouldn't find her because he couldn't?"

"Precisely."

"Well, this is certainly news to me, and I helped build her."

"She was built using the latest of spy technology, correct?"

"Yes."

"So it would therefore follow that she was built with our best camoflage, which is known to scramble signals when the spies using them feel threatened."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Actually, I'm just trying to see why you're surprised. Wouldn't there be a lot you didn't expect about this project?"

Finn nodded. "You're right. This is entirely new territory. It's possible even Montgomery doesn't know what he's getting into."

"Possibly, and you're right. We don't know what we're dealing with. Mater and Lightning know Lexie personally, as does the rest of Radiator Springs, but other than that, very few about this girl."

"And even fewer know about her design."

"So now what? She's right above us, about to engage in a highly publicised race, the first of the season, even if she's in a minor role. If anyone acts at any point, the entire world will know about it."

"We have to wait until the extraction team arrives, and then our mission is simple: do whatever we can to get them from taking Alexa."

Holley nodded. "Understood."

Finn closed his eyes and surpressed a yawn. "Let's get some sleep. We can't gather decent intel if we haven't had a good night's rest."

CARS

Lexie was startled awake by the sense that someone was watching her. "Okay, none of this can be a coincidence," she muttered, driving over to the window and peering out into the lights of Los Angeles. Down below, cars were commuting to and from night shifts. Four cars were gathered in the hotel's back lot, alone and not moving.

She looked over her fender at Lightning, who was still sound asleep, and she whispered, "Forgive me, Dad," before driving out of the hotel room and down the ramp to the ground floor. She slipped out of the back door and behind the nearest dumpster, which allowed her a good view of the four cars in the lot. They were talking amongst themselves in tones so low Lexie couldn't make out what they were saying, which explained why they hadn't moved from their positions in the several minutes it took her to get down there.

At one point, the cars nodded in unison to each other and slipped easily into a V-formation, and the leader scanned the parking lot. Lexie slipped deeper into the shadows. "Fan out and find her. I know she's here," the lead car said, and the others split up. The four combed the parking lot, and Lexie ducked back into the hallway, leaving the door open only a crack. A silver sportscar passed without a glance at the door or the dumpster, and only then did she allow herself a small, silent sigh of relief.

A second, black sportscar approached the door, and Lexie shot to the right, into the pool room. The sportscar turned toward her, approaching slowly. Crap, she thought. I'm dead now. I'm so dead. "What do we have here?" the car asked. "You look like someone we're looking for."

"And you look like a parking lot rapist," Lexie replied, sounding more confident than she felt.

"Oh, do I? Do I scare you?"

"Actually you piss me off. Now get the hell out of here before I call the cops."

"You have some serious ball bearings, girl."

"So do you." Lexie rolled forward to meet the sportscar in the hallway. "Y'know what, I don't want this to be in vain, so what do you want? Just tell me that before I do something about you and your friends that entails a lot of sirens and cop cars."

"I told you. We're looking for you. Now, come with us and no one will get hurt."

"Who do you think you can threaten?"

"What about that so-called father of yours? What was his name? Oh, yeah, Lightning McQueen." A gun appeared out of Lexie's hubcap and fired a shot, striking the sportscar in the headlight. Both cars yelped and shot backward a couple feet. "You're in for it," the car hissed, approaching her. The gun fired a few more shots, each sending Lexie back an inch or so. "What is wrong with you? Do you want to kill me?"

"How the hell should I know? This is happening on its own," Lexie replied. The gun clicked once and then retracted. "Shit," she whispered.

"Now what're you going to do, psycho?"

If I'm as psycho as you think I am, she thought, I'll think of something. The car approached, and instinct kicked in. She slashed at him with her hubcap, connecting and cutting a deep gash through his front bumper. When he pulled back, she realized she'd cut through his lower lip. I guess I am as psycho as you think I am, she thought, rolling back.

"What is going on in here?" a maintenance car asked as he exited the pool room.

"I was just leaving," the sportscar said, turning one hundred eighty degrees and driving down the corridor.

"What happened to him?"

"He tried to mess with me, and I stopped him," Lexie said flatly. "I'm gonna go to my room now. I'll talk to somebody about it."

"You better. Creeps like that shouldn't be on the streets."

Lexie nodded and drove to the ramp and up to the floor above hers. She knocked on Holley and Finn's door, and a half-asleep Finn answered. "Yes?" he managed.

"We need to talk," she replied.

"Oh, come in. Tell me what happened."

Lexie gave her account of the previous events, and when she finished, she said, "Tell me what the hell is happening to me."

"You were faced with a threat to your life, even if you didn't consciously percieve it as such. You reacted appropriately."

"Was that even me?"

"Of course. It was all you."

"Was it?"

"I understand that this is a lot to process right now, so I'll let you rest. We'll tell your father that you are in good tires."

"He's probably still passed out right now, so I'd wait till the morning if I were you."

Finn yawned. "Good idea." Lexie rolled into the corner and closed her eyes. Finn settled in next to Holley, closest to the door, and waited until he was certain Lexie was asleep before placing a call.

"_Ja_?" Zundapp asked from the other end of the line.

"We have a situation."

CARS

Holley drove down the ramp to the floor below her and knocked on Lightning's door. "Hey, Holley," he said when he answered.

"Good morning," she replied. "I wanted to let you know that your daughter is in good tires. She's with us."

"Oh, good. I was just about to look for her, but at least she's not with strangers. The Manufacturer knows what strangers would do. Anyway, thanks for lookin' out for her."

"Of course. It's not a problem at all. Now I understand you have a busy day ahead of you, so I'll let you go."

"Thanks. Take care of yourselves."

"You, too. It's a dangerous world, especially now."

The two nodded, and Holley drove down the corridor.

CARS

Lexie stirred, awoke, and was awash in a sense of disorientation. Then the events of the previous night returned to her, and she spotted Finn closest to the door, wide awake. "Good morning," he said with a smile. "Sleep well, considering?"

"Yeah," Lexie replied with a small nodd. "Considering."

"It will never happen again. I assure you."

"How can you be sure?"

"I have some very trusted contacts hard at work on this issue. You are in good tires."

"Oh, I am, am I?"

"Yes, you are. You can hold me to that, if you like."

"Maybe later. Where's Holley?"

"Telling your father where you are."

"Okay. So seriously, what's going on?"

"We already told you what we know."

"So tell me more about this older me you mentioned a few days ago."

"He was called on to save another."

"You killed him?"

"He was too obedient for our tastes, anyway. It's rather poetic what the Professor did. He'll be able to tell you more about it than I can, but the basics of it are that he took your counterpart to Germany, where he performed a complicated engine replacement into a Pacer."

"They only allow that if-"

"If the transplantee is sick, and he was. Very. At least, that's as I hear it."

Lexie rolled back and studied the carpet. Her mind felt completely numb, so much so that it started to hurt. "I take it there's a hell of a lot going on here that only Montgomery knows about." Finn nodded. "What're the odds of us asking him?"

The Aston Martin blinked once. "What?"

"What're the odds of us asking Montgomery a few questions?"

"Well...uh...if I had to guess..." He sighed. "Very minimal. He's an extremely reclusive car, and he never even tells his top agents his true plans. For anything."

"So are we screwed?"

"Not necessarily. The extraction team is already here, which will be a problem, but it may also be the key to a solution."

"The key to a solution?"

"Look, I'm not sure how much I can tell you right now, but I do have one question for you. Do you trust me?" Lexie nodded. "Good. We have work to do."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Finn and Lexie watched from the balcony as Lightning fielded questions from reporters about various trivial subject matter. "Alright," Finn said. "The time is near. The extraction team is in position, complete with deCarteran, the Aston Martin in the center." He indicated the cluster of five sportscars, all but two black, close to the fringes of the crowd.

"They're waiting for me and wondering why I haven't shown up," Lexie said.

"Exactly."

"Will they attack?"

"Not yet. It's too dangerous. There are too many witnesses."

"So do I go or not?"

"You'll pull the team away from the crowd, and Holley and I will take care of it from there."

"Where do I take them?"

"The nearest park. Can you do that?"

"I think so."

"Good." Finn nodded, and Lexie drove off the balcony, down the ramp, and into the street. Carefully, she snaked around the edge of the crowd until she reached the cars Finn pointed out to her. She revved her engine for a moment, causing the five to turn and look at her.

"Follow me," she said, racing off down the street. She checked her mirror to ensure that the sportscars were doing as she said, and she turned a corner as fast as she dared. You can do this, she told herself. Finn and Holley are watching you right now, and they'll come in if you're in trouble. She rounded another corner, almost striking the pole of a stoplight, and she barreled down the street and skidded into the park. She slid to a stop, parallel to the gate, and looked at the other five as they closed in. They stopped a few feet in front of her, guns drawn.

deCarteran approached slowly, giving Lexie a once-over. "Are you finally going to surrender, girl?" he asked.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"The one I give everybody who calls me 'girl' instead of taking the time to use my name, which I'm now not going to tell you, because you're being a tailpipe."

"What do you expect from me?"

"I expect you to have more class than you're exhibiting right now."

"You've been hiding with Axle Redline, haven't you?"

"Who?"

"Oh, never mind. Just come with us and everything will be fine."

"You sound like you've said that a million times to a million other cars, and I have a feeling if I go to a British junkyard, I'll find a few of those cars."

"You Americans have horrible mouths."

"And you British guys have sticks jammed up your tailpipes so far they can't even be removed with surgery." Lexie spotted Finn and Holley driving into the park. She only had to hold the sportscars a little while longer.

deCarteran drove another foot toward her. "Where do you get off talking to me like that?"

"That any way to talk to a lady?" a voice behind Lexie asked. She turned to face an aquamarine, green-hazel eyed Pacer with scarring along his hood, front bumper, and front side panels. The car couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen, but the scarring made him look like he was in his twenties.

Lexie looked over her fender at the five sportscars, who looked just as surprised and confused as she felt. Past them, she could see Finn and Holley, she as confused as the others, and he with a smile on his bumper. She returned her attention to the Pacer's direction, and she noticed several other Pacers, along with a few Gremlins and Trunkovs. The entire group, speaker included, had guns drawn and at the ready.

The aquamarine Pacer drove forward a couple feet and looked from Lexie to the cars behind her. "Are these sportscars giving you trouble?" he asked, looking back at Lexie.

"We're not any trouble at all," deCarteran said.

"I wasn't talking to you."

"Who is this guy?" Lexie asked no one in particular, gesturing to the Pacer and looking around.

"Name's Alex Pacer," he said. "Know these cars?"

"Not really. Look, this car I know and trust has a plan. I'm just going along with it. I don't know what exactly he's doing."

"But you trust him."

"Exactly, because I know him."

"Okay, now it makes more sense." Alex drove past Lexie and studied the five sportscars. "You're surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned. Now, if I were you, I'd surrender before you get killed."

"What're you gonna do about it?" one of the sportscars asked, giving the Pacer a disgusted once-over.

"Boys?" The Pacers, Gremlins, and Trunkovs cocked their guns and began to circle the five sportscars. Finn pulled a pair of guns and approached, as well. Lexie made eye contact with Holley, who merely shrugged. The sportscars, save deCarteran, clustered into a small knot, muttering to themselves about how their lives were all over, flashing before their eyes or whatnot. "Seems your boys have reached a consensus. If you're a half-decent leader, pull out now before you endanger their lives for your own selfish gain, or the selfish gain of whoever you're working for. Imagine how that's gonna look to the public, when it gets out."

deCarteran paled. "You wouldn't," he whispered, his gaze fixed on Alex.

"I would, and I can. I just have to place a few phone calls, and the fact that you threatened an innocent girl and then endangered these cars' lives will be all over the free world, with all the social stigma that comes with. You just don't look like the type who can handle that, much less benefit from it."

Anger flashed through deCarteran's eyes, and he said, "Get him." The other four sportscars cocked their guns and turned toward Alex.

"Guess I was right, then," the Pacer said. The sportscars opened fire, and the lemons responded in kind. Lexie backed up to the side, and deCarteran followed her.

"You're not going anywhere," he hissed.

"Watch me," she replied, shooting toward Finn and Holley. deCarteran shot her front left tire out, and she inadvertently spun to face him, her rim grinding against the asphalt pathway.

"You're a complete embarrassment."

"Takes one to know one, beater." Around her, several lemons erupted into laughter, and behind her, Holley giggled.

deCarteran shot forward, and Lexie dodged to the left. His momentum launched him into a cluster of lemons who gleefully fired upon him. A Trunkov drove over to her, chuckled, and said, "That was a good one, callin' a sportscar a beater."

She gave him a high tire with her good wheel and replied, "Sometimes things need to be turned upside down for life to be interesting." The Trunkov nodded in understanding, and deCarteran emerged from the cluster far from unscathed.

"That's it, you..." he snarled, charging Lexie. Guns appeared out of her hubcaps and fired before she fully registered what she was doing. She landed a few shots around his headlight and one to his tire, and he stopped and rolled back a foot. "What is wrong with you? You're a madwoman."

"And I'm proud of it," Lexie replied, figuring it was better for him to think something that was false rather than know the truth. "Wanna get out while you still can? Doesn't look like your friends are as lucky as you are." deCarteran looked at his four accomplices, who were engaged in losing battles with clusters of armed lemons.

"Pull out," he said, "but tell the boss she's active."

The sportscars pulled away from the lemons and again clustered around deCarteran, who led them out of the park, past Holley, who studied them intently as they drove. Finn drove up and said, "Well, that went better than I expected."

"Better than you expected?" a Gremlin asked. "Who asked you?"

Alex held up his tire, and the Gremlin fell into a grudging silence. "They'll be back," he said.

"I know," Finn replied, "but right now, we have to ensure Alexa's security."

"That's gonna be tough. Lexie McQueen's all over the news now, out of the woodwork as Lightning's daughter, and the Manufacturer knows who all's gonna follow that example, fictitious as it is."

"Let's hope that they do, to distract the enemy."

"What is going on? What do I keep doing with this gun-in-the-hubcap thing?" Lexie demanded.

Finn sighed. "Not here. There's a safe house not far from here where we can discuss the matter. Master Pacer, would you be kind enough to escort us?"

"Yeah, sure," Alex said. "Where to?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Axle slipped to the side and allowed the nearly two dozen assorted cars, most of them lemons, to enter. Once they were inside, Finn turned toward him and said, "This is our escort," with a gesture to the lemons. "An extraction team has been sent after Alexa," he gestured toward the magenta sportscar, who was parked next to to an aquamarine Pacer, "and while we've won this round-"

"They'll be back. Yeah, I know the drill," Axle said. "You want us to contact the girl's parents, get her somewhere safe, maybe enroll her in the nearest school or somethin'. Keep a low profile and such."

"Exactly. Can you do that? We'll take care of contacting her father."

"There's no school for the racing season," the aquamarine Pacer added, "so we don't need to worry about that."

"Well, she can stay here until we get something worked out," Axle said.

"Alright," Finn replied. "May I borrow your phone?"

CARS

"What? Where? Huh?" Lightning said into the phone in his hotel room.

A sigh could be heard on the other end of the line, and Finn replied, "McQueen, someone has been sent to retrieve your daughter, and they were earlier than we anticipated. Something of a fight broke out, but the Professor was true to his word and enlisted help for us. Your daughter successfully held her own and is safe with Axle Redline."

"Put her on. I wanna talk to her."

"Alright."

"Hey, Dad," Lexie said.

"Hey, baby girl. Heard you got into a fight," Lightning replied.

"Yeah, I did, but thanks to this mysterious Professor's friends, we took care of it. Nobody's seriously hurt, as far as I know, and I know for a fact nobody's dead."

"That's good."

"Well, I probably could go around the circuit with you, or I could stay here. Either way, they're gonna find me eventually."

"They?"

"Yeah, the ones who're tryin' to get me, and I'm not talkin' about the 'they' all those paranoid freaks talk about. I'm talking real cars here."

"I know you are, baby girl. I overheard Finn say it's harder to track a moving target, so you run the circuit with me, and we'll just mix it with a cross-country road trip, take our time getting to all the races, so we're not spending a week swarmed by press."

"Okay."

"Now, for the next couple days, you just stay with Finn and Holley, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

"I'll call you tomorrow night so you can stop by and get ready for the race."

"Sounds good."

"Well, I've gotta go. Good luck, baby girl."

"I'd wish you good luck, too, but you don't need it."

"Night."

"Night."

Lexie hung up, and Lightning sank onto his chassis in relief.

CARS

"Now, tell me about the gun thing," Lexie said, turning to Finn.

"Don't worry about that. You were designed with those. They've been with you your whole life." Axle pulled a tire from a crate, drove toward her, and detatched her wheel. "You have other weapons, too. Several more guns along your side panels, one in each of your front rims. Your hubcaps can be razor sharp Frisbees. There's an electromagnetic pulse emitter in your engine, even. Judging by your track record, no pun intended, your systems are triggered by instinct rather than conscious mechanisms, which makes sense. One of our objectives was to ensure that you could be able to keep yourself alive."

Axle began putting the tire on her rim. "Can I learn to control this stuff?" Lexie asked.

"Of course. Once this Montgomery business is resolved, we'll introduce you to your onboard computer, where you can learn more about the processes that drive the Ceres, also no pun intended."

"Could you be careful?" she asked Axle, who nodded and tapped the tire into place and began to pump it full of air.

"Another few minutes or so and you'll be good," Axle said.

"Thanks."

Alex drove into the garage and said, "The guards are posted, and the heads of the Four Families know about what happened. Word's on it's way to the Professor."

"Excellent," Finn replied.

Lexie gave Alex a more thorough once-over than she had in the park. "Where'd the scars come from?" she asked.

"I had a horrible infection when I was a kid," Alex said. "I had to have my engine replaced."

"I heard about that. It must've been bad, to warrant an engine replacement."

"Well, it wasn't done by a licensed doctor. The Professor did it. Uncle Tubbs told me about it when I was older."

"Zundapp told me the same thing, in essence," Finn added. "It's rather unusual, as his trade is weapons rather than medicine, but one Ceres stuck between good and evil is better than two."

"Ceres?" Lexie asked.

"Does that sound familiar?"

"I...I think so."

"Look, it's getting pretty late," Axle said, tapping Lexie's tire one more time. "Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow."

"Good idea," Lexie replied. "Do you have a guest room?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Alex, Holley, go with her. I'll keep first watch," Finn said. Axle led Holley, Alex, and Lexie to the back of the garage, which led to Axle's apartment. Lexie looked back at Finn, whose eyes were fixed on the door, and then down at the concrete floor, and finally at Alex, directly in front of her.

Lexie slipped in between Holley and Alex in Axle's guest room, and she closed her eyes.


End file.
